Tubular-knitted elastic stocking with differentially knitted instep and heel



Dec. 15, 1970 LU F 1 d M y 6 1968 H. K NOHL 3,546,900 TIC STOCKING WITH DIFFERENTLY KNITTED INSTEP AND HEEL 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 15,

H. KNOHL 3,546,900

TUBULAR-KNITTED ELASTIC STOCKING WITH DIFFERENTLY KNITTED Filed May 6, 1968 INSTEP AND HEEL Z-Sheets-Sheet Z United States Patent 3,546,900 TUBULAR-KNITTED ELASTIC STOCKING WITH DIFFERENTIALLY KNITTED INSTEP AND HEEL Herbert Knohl, Seneca, S.C., assignor to The Kendall Company, Walpole, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Filed May 6, 1968, Ser. No. 726,904 Int. Cl. D04b 9/56 US. Cl. 66-185 10 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Tubular-knitted stockings in which instep courses of jersey knit continue through the heel being interknitted in the instep portion with partial course-rounds such as alternate jersey stitches and intermediate floats and alternate jersey stitches and intermediate tuck stitches and being interknitted in the heel with jersey stitch course continuations completing the partial course-rounds.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This invention is somewhat related to my invention set forth in US. Pat. No. 3,425,246 entitled Protuberance Covering Tubular Elastic Garments issued Feb. 4, 1969; to my invention set forth in US. Pat. No. 3,443,404 entitled Circular-Knit Elastic Foot Garment With Non- Binding Instep issued May 13, 1969; and to my invention set forth in US. Pat. No. 3,461,695 entitled Two-Way Stretch Garment Incorporating Inlaid Elastomeric Yarn issued Aug. 19, 1969.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Tubular-knitted stockings, including street wear stockings, stretch stockings and therapeutic stockings, have all suffered in appearance and fit when compared to full fashioned knit stockings or even to circular knit stockings with reciprocated heels, by the fact that the heel and foot must be formed from straight tubular fabric. The human foot is so formed that the ankle, which in the average woman may measure 8 /2 inches in circumference, is closely adjacent the instep where the circumference measured around the heel is about 12 /2 inches. The problem is further complicated by the fact that the measurement from the ankle down along the top of the foot (3 /2 inches) is very much less than the measurement from the ankle down the back center of the heel (10 inches), so that the problem is not completely solved by increasing the fabric circumference. It is in fact possible where thermoplastic yarns are utilized to alter somewhat the stitch size, shrinking the stitches in the instep and stretching the stitches around the heel, but the limitations of such methods are such that the dimensions after preboarding still do not conform to those of the body. Socalled patch heels are also utilized but these are also inadequate. It has also been proposed to make additional discontinuous partial courses in the heel with the cut ends knitted into normal instep stitches, but quite obviously this method tends to limit high speed production and creates an area where seconds or unsightly appearance may become a problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of this invention to provide tubular-knit stockings in which extra fabric is differentially knitted into the heel area forming more attractive and better fitting finished garments.

It is a further object of this invention to provide tubular-knit stretch stockings including an interknitted spiroidal course of elastic yarn in the instep wherein jersey 3,546,900 Patented Dec. 15, 1970 stitches alternate with floats and wherein extra fabric is differentially knitted into the heel.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide tubular-knit stretch stockings including an interknitted spiroidal course of elastic yarn in the instep wherein jersey stitches alternate with tuck loops and wherein extra fabric is differentially knitted into the heel.

The objects of the invention are largely realized by using jersey knit and float and/0r jersey knit and tuck stitch courses in the instep and for practical attractive appearance preferably in the entire stocking excluding the heel and toe and possibly the welt and shadow welt and converting such jersey knit and float and/ or jersey knit and tuck stitch courses differentially in the heel area to partial round courses of jersey stitches. When a jersey knit and float and/ or jersey knit and tuck stitch course is included in tubular fabric it has the effect of shortening the fabric to an appreciable amount even when it is included as one course in four with jersey courses. But when such courses are incorporated as every other course, a decided shortening from straight jersey tubular fabric may be achieved. When these courses are converted to a partial round of straight jersey stitches in selected arcs included in a particular area of the tube such as a stocking heel, the tube contains more fabric in the particular area. The finished stocking, therefore, more nearly approximates the outlines and dimensions of the human foot whereby a more attractive, better fitting and more comfortable garment results.

The jersey knit and float and/or the jersey knit and tuck yarn may be, without limitation either substantially inelastic, such as nylon, silk, polypropylene or other normally used stocking yarn, or it may be a stretch or torque yarn or an elastomeric yarn. Likewise, the jersey stitch courses may, without limitation, be either substantially inelastic, a stretch or torque yarn or an elastomeric yarn. As a matter of fact, the invention does not depend upon the type of yarn used although the best results are obtained with thermoplastic yarns.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 illustrates a swatch of stocking fabric 10 from a typical stocking of the invention showing the instep fabric 11, the heel fabric 12 and the transition from one construction to the other. As illustrated, alternate courses 13, 14, and 15 are of covered elastomeric yarn although this is purely optional. These courses may be made of any of the yarns of which stockings are made. FIG. 1 illustrates that courses 13, 14, and 15 in the instep area are of a construction comprising jersey stitches 1 8 alternating with floats 19, whereas in the heel area the course comprises successive jersey knit stitches 18. In courses 13 and 15 in the instep fabric, the floats are seen to occur across the same wales, whereas in course 14 the floats occur across the intermediate wales. This provides an offset for the distorted stitches 21 which thus occur in every wale of the instep Whereas they would otherwise occur in alternate wales only. Alternate courses 16 and 17 are composed of jersey stitches 20 although in the area outside the heel alternate stitches such as 21 are distorted.

FIG. 2 illustrates a swatch of stocking fabric 25 from another typical stocking of the invention showing the instep fabric construction 26 and the heel fabric construction 27. This swatch, aside from the fact that it is made from typical stocking yarns, differs from that illustrated in FIG. 1 in that in the instep portion the partial courses 29 of alternate jersey stitches and floats are separated by three jersey knit courses 28 in which stitches occur in each course in every Wale.

FIG. 3 illustrates a typical finished tubular-knit stocking of the invention 30 with the boot portion 31 and the instep portion 35 having at least one course in four of jersey knit and float or jersey knit and tuck construction. The heel construction of stocking is of jersey stitches with the knit and float courses of the instep being converted, in the heel 33 only, to jersey construction and with the jersey knit courses of the instep continuing as such in the heel. The welt 32 and the toe 34 may be made using any of the usual constructions normally used with tubular-knit stockings. In the particular embodiment shown, the area a has stitches which are gradually increased from the ankle to about midpoint of the heel and then gradually decreased to ankle stitch size at the point where the foot is finished.

FIG. 4 illustrates a swatch of stocking fabric from another typical stocking of the invention, showing the construction of the instep fabric 41 and the heel fabric 42 and the transition from one to the other. Courses 43, which are of any of the usual stocking yarns, consist of jersey stitches although some of the stitches are distorted. The construction of these courses continues through both portions. Courses 45, which are shown as being of covered elastic yarn, are partial courses of jersey stitches in the heel only. In the instep area, the yarn of course 45 becomes an inlay yarn in the previous course. Courses 44 are continuous through the instep and heel, being formed into jersey stitches in the heel and jersey stitches in alternate wales joined by floats in the instep. The yarns of courses 44 are also shown as covered elastic yarns although they may be any of the yarns employed in the manufacture of stockings.

FIG. 5 illustrates a swatch of fabric from a typical stocking of the invention including an instep portion 51 and a heel portion 52. The construction is very similar to that of FIG. 4 except that in the instep area where the jersey knit and float stitch courses 54 occur, the construction is alternate jersey stitches joined by tuck loops 56. Courses 54 are knitted as jersey partial course rounds in the heel area only. Courses 53 are continuous jersey stitches through both heel and instep portions, although in the instep portion the yarn of courses 55 is inlayed in courses 53. In the heel area the yarn of course 55 is knitted as a partial course round of jersey stitches. The courses 57 are also jersey stitches in the heel portion but in the instep portion consist of jersey stitches in alternation with tuck stitches which include the tuck loops 56.

FIG. 6 illustrates a swatch 60 of fabric from a typical stocking of the invention including an instep portion 61 and a heel portion 62. The construction is all jersey knit in the heel portion but in the instep area jersey stitches in courses 64 occur in alternate wales and are joined by tuck loops 65 in the intermediate wales. Likewise, in courses 63 in the instep area jersey stitches occur in intermediate wales and are joined by tuck stitches in the alternate wales.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Example 1 Using a Singer Fidelity four-feed LBMF circular knitting stocking machine modified to inlay elastic yarn as is fully illustrated in my co-pending application Ser. No. 581,319 (now U.S. Pat. No. 3,425,246), a turned welt and shadow welt was made in the usual manner using 40 denier nylon KDK (knit-de-knit) yarn in alternate feeds and 40 denier textralized nylon yarn in the other feeds. When the boot was knitted, the yarn on feed 1 was replaced by a 40 denier spandex core covered with one end of 20 denier, 7 filament nylon and kept under sufficient tension to prevent kinking. Yarn of this general type is fully described in my U.S. Pat. No. 3,301,018 issued Jan. 31, 1967. The yarn on feeds 2, 3, and 4 was exchanged for a 30 denier, 3 filament nylon yarn on each. Where greater snag resistance is desired, 30 denier, 10 filament yarn with turns S twist may be substituted.

The machine was set to knit at feeds 2 and 4, to knit and float at feed 3, and to inlay nylon covered spandex at feed 1.

The machine reduced the stitch size gradually as knitting proceeded from the shadow welt to a point about one and one-half to two inches short of the point where the heel is commenced. At this point the extended stitch graduating segment was activated and, as is fully explained in my co-pending application Ser. No. 668,842 entitled Circular-Knit Foot Garment with Non-Binding Instep (now U.S. Pat. No. 3,443,404), resulted in the drawing of gradually longer stitches to the midportion of the heel and then the drawing of gradually shorter stitches to a point where the stitch size equalled the size of the stitches where the segment was activated. At this point between the heel and the toe, the segment was deactivated.

As is fully explained in U.S. Pat. No. 3,209,558 to James T. Cargill, issued Oct. 5, 1965, the spandex yarn was measured into the machine in proper amount by the variable cam control as the knitting proceeded.

At the point where the heel was commenced, a change in needle movement at feeds 1 and 3 was initiated whereby the spandex yarn at feed 1 was knitted in every course around the heel portion of the needle circle and was inlaid in the instep area and whereby the nylon at feed 3 was knitted in every course around the heel portion of the needle circle and was knitted in a knit and float construction in the instep area. These changes in needle movement produced a pocket by continuous circular knitting in the heel area. After the heel area was completed, the needle movements were changed to the boot movements and the stocking was finished in the usual manner. After boarding, the stocking had excellent shaping with a nude appearance in the heel and foot area. It gave a clinging fit in a sheer stocking stretchable both circumferentially and lengthwise.

Example 2 Using the machine and techniques of Example 1 but replacing the nylon yarn of feed three of the boot and foot with a spandex yarn similar to that in feed 1, a stocking was knitted. The above-mentioned Cargill device was used in measuring the proper amount of spandex fed into the machine at feed 3. The stocking after finishing was only slightly less sheer than the stocking of Example 1 but had greater support pressure on the leg when WOIIl and greater lengthwise stretch.

Example 3 Using the machine of Example 1 and the same yarns in the welt and shadow welt and 30 denier, 3 filament nylon yarn at all feeds for the boot and foot portions, a stocking was knitted with the machine set to knit at feeds 2 and 4 and to knit and float at feeds :1 and 3 except in the heel area where the machine was set to knit in the heel area and to knit and float in the instep area. The needle movements at feeds 1 and 3 were similar to the needle movements at feed 3 in Example 1, except that the floats were set to occur across different wales and the stitches were set to occur in different wales at the two feeds. This stocking when finished had a sheer nude appearance with a shape which was outstandingly good for a tube type stocking.

Example 4 Using the machine and technique of Example 3 except in the boot and foot an elastic yarn similar to that used at feed 1 in Example 1 was used in both 1 and 3 feeds, a stocking was knitted having some degree of support pressure when worn. The stocking had longitudinal and circumferential stretch.

Example 5 Using the machine and yarns of Example 3 with the machine set to knit at feeds 2, 3, and 4 but to knit and tuck at feed 1 except in the heel area where the needle movement was set to knit and tuck in the instep and knit in the heel, a stocking was knitted, The characteristics of the stocking were very similar to those of the stocking of Example 3 but the fabric appeared to be more coarse and for that reason the stocking is not a preferred embodiment.

I claim:

1. A stocking comprising tubular-knitted boot and foot portions including a tubular-knitted instep and a tubularknitted heel all formed of a plurality of yarns, one of said yarns being formed into a spiraloid course of jersey stitches continuous through said boot portion and through said instep and heel, a second of said yarns being elastomeric and interknitted with said one yarn and extending continuously through said boot portion, said instep and said heel, said second yarn being knitted predominantly into jersey stitches in successive wales in said heel but in said instep being knitted into jersey stitches in alternate wales with connecting floats across intermediate wales.

2. A stocking comprising tubular-knitted boot and foot portions including a tubular-knitted instep and a tubularknitted heel all formed of a plurality of yarns, one of said yarns being formed into a spiraloid course of jersey stitches continuous through said boot portion and through said instep and heel, a second of said yarns being elastomeric and interknitted with said one yarn and extending continuously through said boot portion, said instep and said heel, said second yarn being knitted predominantly into jersey stitches in successive wales in said heel but in said instep being knitted into jersey stitches in alternate wales with loops forming part of tuck stitches in intermediate wales and connecting said jersey stitches in alternate wales.

3. The stocking of claim 1 wherein the elastomeric yarn is a covered yarn.

4. The stocking of claim 1 wherein said second yarn is separated in successive rounds by at least two courses of jersey stitches of textile yarn extending through said portions.

5. The stocking of claim 1 wherein said second yarn is separated in successive rounds by less than eight coures of jersey stitches extending through said portions.

6. The stocking of claim 1 wherein an elastomeric yarn 6 is inlaid in at least one course of jersey stitches in said boot portion and instep but is knitted as an extra partial course of jersey stitches in said heel.

7. The stocking of claim 1 wherein an elastomeric yarn is inlaid in a course of jersey stitches alternating with floats in said boot portion and instep but is knitted as an extra partial course of jersey stitches in said heel.

8. The stocking of claim 1 wherein said second yarn is a covered elastomeric yarn and wherein a covered elasto meric yarn is inlaid in at least one of said other courses in said boot portion and instep but is interknitted as an extra partial course of jersey stitches in said heel.

9. The stocking of claim 1 wherein the boot portion includes an ankle knitted with relatively short stitches and a calf knitted with relatively longer stitches and wherein the instep and heel are knitted with stitches gradually increasing in length from those of the ankle to a point about midway of the heel and then gradually decreasing in length to about the length of the stitches in the ankle at the toe end of the heel.

10. The stocking of claim 1 wherein said second yarn and the textile yarn of said separating courses are thermoplastic yarns.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,803,865 5/1931 Page 6649X 2,108,540 2/1938 Lochead 6685 2,201,557 5/1940 Getaz 66l72 2,349,746 5/ 1945 Morris et al. 66l72 2,347,005 4/1944 Smith 66201 3,197,978 8/1965 Sheeler 6 6-169 3,221,522 12/1965 Nebel 66185 3,250,092 5/1966 York at al 66178X 3,287,938 11/1966 Knohl 66l78X 3,301,018 1/1967 Knohl 66178 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,194,507 2/1958 France 66185 RONALD FELDBAUM, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 66 187 

